Catch a Cat By It's Tail
by Sunhawk1
Summary: This is just an idea I wrote out one morning during the later summer... now a SM crossover with an... unique matchup! ... People seem to like this one... full chapter 2 up!
1. Prologue (Revised)

Catch a Cat By It's Tail   
(A Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon fanfic)  
  
by Shea McIntee  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, and/or any other   
series mentioned; they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and others whom   
I humbly abase myself before. I'm not worthy!  
  
Prologue  
  
The valley was quiet and still. The cool crisp air blew softly   
across the many pools dotting the valley, and past a small hut.  
  
Aside from the blowing breeze and the rustling of a few scattered   
trees, the only noise was the sound of a single bird singing. It's   
song told the uncomprehending world a tale passed down through the   
generations, of love and tragic death among the stars, long before   
this valley was born.  
  
And then the silence was broken.  
  
"Oh! Honored Customers be careful! Very bad you fall in spring!"  
  
*ker-splash!*  
  
"Ha! Slowing down already, oyaji?"  
  
"Growlph!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
*WHAM!*  
  
"Waaahh?!"  
  
*CRUNCH!*  
  
"I-t-e..."  
  
*Splash!*  
  
The guide winced as the honored customer (now a panda) slammed the   
young honored customer into a small cliff inder an overhang, who then   
slid limply down into a small spring below, with blodd tracing his   
path down. That had to REALLY hurt.  
  
He sighed as he walked towards the panda.  
  
"Graowph?"  
  
"Sir! You fall in 'Shaomonichuan,' Spring of Drowned Panda. There   
tragic story of panda who drown in spring two thousand year ago. Now,   
whoever fall in spring take body of panda!"  
  
"Roarf??"  
  
The guide, with a slightly dazed (and pale) panda, walked towards the   
small spring where the other customer had fallen.  
  
Genma was panicking. 'Turn into a panda?!?' And his son had fallen   
into a spring!  
  
'Kami-sama, Nodoka will make a rug out of me! Now he'll never fulfill   
the pledge with the Tendos and support me in my old age!'  
  
Visions of sharp katanas mingled with those of a haggard and   
skeletally thin Genma starving on the streets.  
  
'Where did he land? What if he... (and here he shuddered) what if he   
turned into a weak girl! Nodoka will fillet me, and THEN make a rug   
out of me! And then... she'll force me to fulfill that contract!  
  
The guide reached the small spring, really more of an overgrown   
puddle, and, pulling out a long pole out of nowhere, fished around in   
the pool, and dragged a smallish limp form out.  
  
"Oh! Poor honored customer fall into maonichuan, spring of drowned   
cat!"  
  
He paused for a moment. "{strange... I could have thought that that   
spring was over there...}" he muttered under his breath.  
  
'Well, this isn't that bad... maybe the boy will finally get over his   
weak fear of cats.'  
  
Ranma coughed and stirred, and opened his eyes. He frowned. The world   
felt... different. He wiped at his face with his hand and then froze.   
The carefully looked at his hand and started to tremble. He edged   
slowly towards a pool of water and peered in. Furry face... pointed   
ears... sharp teeth and claws... slitted eyes...  
  
"Ahhhhh!! C-c-c-cat!!"  
  
And he raced away in a total panic.  
  
Author's Notes: Well, this was sitting around in my notebook for a   
while, and I came across it and decided to post it. Comments/criticism   
is quite welcome: deus_ex_mach42@hotmail.com  
  
Update Notes: Okay, after a suggestion by Darkreign, I decided to   
continue writing this fic. Originally, it was going to be a sailor   
moon/ranma crossover involving lots of poking fun and such, but that was   
kinda usurped by the "For If We Shadows Have Affended" idea. Instead,   
it'll be somewhat different in concept, although there'll be plenty of   
attempts at humor.  
  
PS: BTW, I've noticed that a rather large number of my fics involve   
Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon... huh...  
  
PPS: I think I'm done with writing more prologues/chapter ones instead   
of working on stuff I've already started... except I'm trying to figure   
out a Ranma/Chronicles of Amber (Zelazny) crossover and a Ranma/Darkover   
crossover. 


	2. Chapter 1

Catch a Cat By It's Tail   
(A Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon fanfic)  
  
by Shea McIntee  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, and/or any other   
series mentioned; they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and others whom   
I humbly abase myself before. I'm not worthy!  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Ranma dragged the fish he'd caught over to a rock before   
starting to carefully claw the scales away from the meat.  
  
'Baka Oyaji!'  
  
As if he hadn't done enough already, his father had gotten   
him cursed. And not just any old curse... it had to be a cat. And   
not only that, but he couldn't turn back into human form like that   
stupid panda could...  
  
**** flashback ****  
  
"Wha... what happened?"  
  
He could see a hazy blur that vaguely resembled a man in a   
dark green suit.  
  
"Oh, young honored customer! You awake! You fall into   
different Maonichuan, spring of drowned talking cat. Very tragic   
tale of - "  
  
The guide was interrupted by a panicked housecat bounding up   
fast enough to hit the ceiling. Hard. He sighed.  
  
"This third time already he do this. Very tragic..."  
  
****  
  
After only a couple more times, he had finally adjusted to the   
idea. The guide had explained the nature of the springs, and how they   
worked. Then he had dropped the other bombshell.  
  
"So, I just need to get some hot water and I'll change back,   
right?"  
  
"Oh, sir, it very tragic. When you fall in spring, you bleed   
in spring, make spirits very angry. And so, you no cured."  
  
"Bleed?"  
  
"Honored Customer hit you hard into cliff, you fall in spring in   
blood. Very tragic."  
  
"WHERE ARE YOU POP, SO I CAN KILL YOU!!"  
  
A panda, which had been hiding behind a door and watching the   
whole thing, took to the hills.  
  
**** end flashback ****  
  
He had caught up to the panda near an amazon village, and chased   
him through some sort of gathering, intent on turning his father into   
panda steaks.  
  
Eventually, he had calmed down long enough for his father to pop   
him in a sack and take him across the sea, back to Japan. He had escaped   
when they arrived, and had been on his own ever since.  
  
He, after constant exposure to himself and other stray cats, was   
getting better about that cower-and-flee-thing, which was about the only   
good thing about his situation.  
  
He was rather small (although medium-large for a housecat), and a   
soft gray color, which did help him blend into the shadows when he was   
trying to avoid the occasional hungry person or animal control officer.   
His eyes were the same (except slitted), and he had a funny yellow-gold   
mark on his forehead that looked like a C turned on it's side, or maybe a   
crescent moon. The only plus was that he could talk, somehow.  
  
He munched on the raw fish, and when he was done, dragged the   
remains back to the small stream in the park and tossed them in.  
  
****  
  
Not too far away, a pair of cats, white and black, was   
interrogating a third.  
  
"Diana, is there a reason that you're here?"  
  
The subject of their scrutiny, a slightly smaller black cat with   
a gold mark on it's forhead, gave a small shrug.  
  
"Keeping Chibi-Usa company?"  
  
The white cat facing her shrugged and turned to his counterpart.  
  
"Relax, Luna."  
  
Luna frowned, looking over Diana's shoulder and seeing another cat,   
this one gray, with a familiar-looking yellow mark on his forehead.  
  
"Diana, who's that?"  
  
Diana looked around, and, catching sight of a slightly-mussed and   
dirty-looking Ranma, jumped to her feet and lunged at him.  
  
"Ranma-sama!"  
  
You could almost see the hearts and cherry petals swirling aroudn   
her. One of the flowers hit Luna right smack on the nose.  
  
Ranma was somewhat started. Who was this, and how did she know his   
name?  
  
Diana nestled against his side and started purring loudly. He just   
froze, completely freaked out.  
  
Luna just stared, jaws agape.  
  
Artemis stepped foreward after a shocked moment.  
  
"Now look here, whoever you are! What do you think you're... doing...   
with... my... uh...?"  
  
Ranma was shivering in the corner. The mere sight of a cat no longer   
sent him into a panic, in fact, he didn't mind them at all anymore (courtesy of   
his new form). An ANGRY cat, on the other hand...  
  
Well, he still needed to work on it.  
  
Artemis was, rather understandably, a bit surprised. He didn't think   
he was THAT good. On the other hand -   
  
(WHAM!)  
  
"Meeph mee manma-ama amomm, oo ee eemee!"  
  
Diana looked slightly disgusted, then spit out the handle attached to a   
mallet that was just as large as she was. Luna sweatdropped.  
  
"Leave my Ranma-sama alone, you big meanie!"  
  
She scampered over to Ranma (still his with eyes closed and his paws over   
his head) and immediately started to groom him enthusiastically.  
  
Luna and Artemis stood (the latter laying sprawled out on the ground) in   
shock, twitching occasionally.  
  
Ranma, at this point, took (to him) the best possible action available,   
and fainted. He was joined soon after by Diana's parents.  
  
The small black cat gripped his neck in her teeth and happily started to   
drag him away, humming a cheery tune.  
  
Author's Note: You like (yes/no)? Thanks again to Darkreign for suggestion   
this idea... It seems to be, well... different (grin). Let me know if characters   
are acting OOC, especially Diana... I'm vague on her, personality-wise. I   
revised the prologue of this one a tiny bit (fixed the bracket error... ff.net   
seems to think it's an attempt at html...), and decided to write a bit more.   
deus_ex_mach42@hotmail.com for feedback, yes? 


	3. Chapter 2

Catch a Cat By It's Tail   
(A Ranma 1/2 and Sailor Moon fanfic)  
  
by Shea McIntee  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2, Sailor Moon, and/or any other   
series mentioned; they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and others whom   
I humbly abase myself before. I'm not worthy!  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Two cats lay in an alley in almost stereotypical   
Takahashi-shock poses.  
  
"... Luna?"  
  
"... Yes?"  
  
"... You know, I had a horrible dream... Diana was here, and  
she..."  
  
"... latched on to someone that resembled a big ball of dust   
with a moon on their forehead and dragged them off? After hitting   
you with a mallet that was at least as big as she was?"  
  
Artemis sweatdropped. "Yeah... err... it... wasn't a dream?"  
  
(smack!)  
  
"Ow!"  
  
Luna gave him an annoyed glare and raised her paw back up.  
  
"Where are they?"  
  
"How should I know?"  
  
Luna sighed and rolled her eyes.  
  
"Let's just go to the meeting... I want to know what's gotten   
into her. And who that other Moon Cat was..."  
  
Artemis sighed. He knew EXACTLY what she'd say next.  
  
'Three... two... one...'  
  
"It's probably some sort of evil plot or something."  
  
The white cat rolled his eyes. Every single time. Luna's   
paranoia was somewhat endearing (although he'd never EVER let her   
know that), but sometimes it was... well, paranoid.  
  
(smack!)  
  
"And don't you roll your eyes at me, Artemis!"  
  
'And she's in a slap-happy mood... great... it must be that   
time of the month...'  
  
****  
  
The Hikawa Shrine was considered perhaps one of the more...   
attractive targets for any passing youma, demons, or any of an   
assortment of nasties.  
  
Some might think that this was because it was a temple. Some   
might consider it a coincidence.  
  
Regardless of the actual cause, it was also where the Senshi   
met at least once a week. If people had known this, they might have   
cited that as the reason for it's ability to draw youma... and they   
might even had been correct.  
  
Regardless, yet another meeting was underway, with most of   
it's customary chaos. For the past couple of weeks, there had been   
absolutely nothing supernatural or evil going on, and so the past few  
meetings had consisted almost entirely of Ami studying in the corner,   
Usagi either eating all the snacks or 'borrowing' Rei's manga, and Rei   
alternating between teasing Usagi about her weight or trying to keep   
her manga away from her. Makoto and Minako usually spent their time   
talking about deep and important issues... like the latest cute   
transfer student.  
  
Normally the two cats would be there to attempt to give the   
whole thing a sense of purpose (although usually without much   
success), but they weren't here today. Instead, a certain pink-haired   
girl (now looking more like fourteen or sixteen than her last   
appearance) had turned up, and was the focus of most of the senshi's   
attention.  
  
"Mako-chan, pass the muffins?"  
  
Well, MOST of their attention. Food was always a high   
priority for a certain hyper-active meatball-head.  
  
When Chibi-Usa had walked in the door, looking almost as old   
as they were, she had been immediately bombarded by questions.  
  
"Chibi-Usa?"  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"What happened to you?"  
  
"Why are you here?"  
  
"Pass the muffins, please?"  
  
"Yes, visiting, I grew up, visiting, and no."  
  
Everyone stopped for a moment. This Chibi-Usa was a bit   
different.  
  
"What? Why is everyone staring at me like that? I grew up...   
it happens. And what's wrong with visiting?"  
  
It was Makoto who answered.  
  
"Nothing wrong... it's just that we were wondering if there   
was some other reason for you to be here."  
  
"Umm... well..."  
  
Usagi rolled her eyes.  
  
"What is it, Spore?"  
  
Chibi-Usa stuck her tongue out.  
  
"Meatball head!"  
  
Ami interrupted, not wanting this to degenerate into yet   
another brawl.  
  
"WAS there some other reason?"  
  
"Well, yeah... kinda..."  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Ummm... Diana... mumblemumblemumble"  
  
"What?"  
  
Chibi-Usa looked down, suddenly looking somewhat shy.  
  
"Diana wantedtovisitherboyfriend," she rushed out almost as   
quietly.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
She sighed.  
  
"Diana. Wanted. To Visit. Her. Boyfriend."  
  
There was a short pause, and then the inevitable explosion.  
  
"Diana has a boyfriend?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"What's his name?"  
  
"What does he look like? Is he cute?"  
  
"Do we know him?"  
  
Chibi-Usa looked around and sweatdropped. She knew she   
should've kept her mouth shut.  
  
Finally, after a minute or so, everyone calmed down long   
enough for her to get a word in edgewise.  
  
"Yes she does, no you don't know him, and yes, he's cute."  
  
She took a picture out of her pocket and showed it around.   
On it, there was a picture of a couple, looking about eighteen,   
each with a gray cat in his or her lap. The girl had white hair   
with a black streak running through it, violet eyes, and a big smile   
on her face. In her lap was a cat that was, recognizably, Diana.   
The boy opposite her was about five foot six and VERY handsome.   
  
Covertly, Makoto and Minako wiped the drool off their chins,   
and even Ami had to take a deep breath or two.  
  
He had slate-blue eyes, and his black hair was bound back in   
a pig-tail. He wore a blue chinese-style shirt and black pants,   
while the girl wore a matching outfit in pink and black. The cat in   
his lap looked a little bigger than Diana, but had similar coloring.   
Both cats had moons on their foreheads.  
  
"So, that's her boyfriend?" Ami asked, pointing to the cat in   
the boy's lap?  
  
"Yep, that's Ranma."  
  
"Who's the hunk?" Minako inquired, a trace of hearts in her   
eyes. Rei and Makoto seemed to want to know as well.  
  
Chibi-Usa rolled her eyes. If they couldn't figure it out... and it   
wasn't that good of a piece of trick photography, too.  
  
"Just some guy... nobody important, really."  
  
The three took some time to digest this. Meanwhile, Usagi took the   
opportunity to grab the small pile of manga by Rei and start leafing   
through it.  
  
Rei recovered quickly, however.  
  
"USAGI!"  
  
And so the meeting returned to its customary activities.  
  
****  
  
Ranma groggily woke up. He had had an odd dream, that he had found   
some other talking cats and one had practically jumped him, calling him   
'Ranma-sama' and stuff.  
  
'Wierd... note to self: no more exotic foods before napping...'  
  
Then he realized that he was being dragged by the scruff of his neck.   
Twisting around, all he could see was a gray coat and paws.  
  
Suddenly the dragging stopped.  
  
"Ranma-sama, are you awake?" came a voice that was so almost sickening   
sweet that he could feel his blood-sugar level skyrocket already.  
  
Great... that would mean that that dream... wasn't.  
  
A gray face with violet eyes peered into his.  
  
"Ranma-kun, are you all right?"  
  
His brain considered his situation, his options, and, once again, took   
the best way out of the situation.  
  
He fainted again.  
  
Diana shrugged, taking it philosophically, and grabbed him again by the   
scruff of the neck. Almost there...  
  
****  
  
The meeting was just breaking up when Luna and Artemis arrived.  
  
Usagi couldn't resist teasing them.  
  
"Where have you two been? Off together somewhere, perhaps?"  
  
Luna sweatdropped, while Artemis started to nod, and then stopped at a   
bared claw from his counterpart.  
  
"Is... Diana... here?"  
  
Usagi looked somewhat puzzled.  
  
"Ummm... no. What's wrong, Luna?"  
  
Artemis spoke up.  
  
"We... saw something that... disturbed us. Did you know that Diana   
apparently has a boyfriend?"  
  
Usagi nodded enthusiastically.  
  
"Yep! His name's Ranma."  
  
"You mean you KNOW him?"  
  
"Err... not really. Chibi-Usa was here and showed us a photograph.   
He's cute. They look SO adorable together!"  
  
Both cats sweatdropped.  
  
"Cute is NOT the word," Luna grumped.  
  
"Oh, I don't know about that... and they definitely do look adorable   
together," said a familar voice, as Setsuna Meiou walked up behind   
the two cats.  
  
Artemis jumped, and then glared at her.  
  
"Don't DO that!"  
  
"Do what?" she asked, a mock-puzzled expression on her face.  
  
Artemis growled. Today was clearly not a good day... maybe he should   
have just stayed home and slept.  
  
****  
  
Pluto gave a small grin as she looked at the white cat with his fur   
standing straight up. She did have to admit that this was fun.  
  
  
She had been taking a long-needed afternoon nap when she had been   
awakened by the feeling of nervous pressure that invariably signaled a   
change in the time-line. Thinking that it was the precursor to yet   
another enemy, she had transformed and hurried to the gate to find   
Crystal Tokyo unchanged, at least, at first glance. At a more   
detailed inspection, she'd found that there were only a few relatively   
minor changes, and had searched for her future counterpart for answers.  
  
For once, it wasn't anything bad. Her future self had told her that it   
wasn't the cause of any enemy, but instead a 'chaotic-quantum event   
caused by an inherent third-party magical artifact,' and wasn't   
anything to worry about; in fact, as a result, future Pluto had said,   
the Scouts would gain another advisor that, if somewhat brash, naive,   
and chauvinistic at first, would be quite an asset. After being told   
any relevant information, she had traveled back and started walking   
towards the Hikawa shrine, where she would get to meet this 'Ranma'   
that little Diana would be so enamored of.  
  
  
She continued grinning at the discomforted cat, and then decided to take   
mercy on him.  
  
"If you wait around a few minutes, you'll be seeing Diana and Ranma; you   
could ask your questions then..."  
  
She looked around and sat down on the steps of the shrine, followed by   
Ami, Chibi-Usa, Rei, and the two moon cats.  
  
Artemis looked at her and narrowed his eyes.  
  
"What do you know about Ranma? Who is he? What's his relation to my   
daughter?"  
  
Chibi-Usa spoke up.  
  
"He's Diana's future boyfriend, and they look sooo cute together!"  
  
"That's what I was afraid of!"  
  
Chibi-Usa fished a familiar photograph out from a pocket and gave it   
to Artemis.  
  
"There they are... aren't they adorable?"  
  
Luna, still a bit disoriented, spoke up, not bothering to look at the   
picture.  
  
"Adorable is NOT the word! He's dirty, and-and..." she said, sputtering   
with indignation.  
  
Chibi-Usa rolled her eyes. Diana said she'd be here after she found   
Ranma. Yep... she could see them coming now... She waved.  
  
"Hey! Over here!"  
  
This attracted the others' attention. Luna and Artemis stood open-mouthed   
at the sight of 'little' Diana dragging the cat they had seen earlier up   
to the steps of the shrine, while Setsuna and Ami merely stared.  
  
Chibi-Usa wasn't at all surprised... the same thing happened in the future   
fairly often.  
  
****  
  
Author's Note: Okay, I guess this will do for this chapter... a little less   
than I had hoped, but exams are coming up and I REALLY need to work for the   
Spanish oral exam... sigh... don't expect much more posted until the   
weekend, or maybe a bit after (recovery time). Next chapter deals with a   
coherent (well, kinda) conversation between the four cats (three bewildered   
and one besmitten), introductions, and various other semi-important things.  
  
  
PS: I had absolutely no idea that this one would get this sort   
of response, so it looks like I'll be trying to update this one more   
often... longer posts were also requested... I'll try...  
  
PPS: Alright, Lufio... happy now? (grin) It was quite a good suggestion,   
tho... and yes, Setsuna won't be psycho-pluto... after all, she does   
occasionally talk to her future self... 


End file.
